Konami/Summary
Background: Founded in 1969 as a jukebox rental and repair business, but later made arcade games in 1973, Konami is a familiar and famous game publisher based in Japan known for their franchises such as Metal Gear, PES (Pro Evolution Soccer), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (until Ubisoft acquired rights to the franchise, which would later be given to Activision), Castlevania, Gradius, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Contra, and Dance Dance Revolution franchises. 1st Logo (1986-1998) Nicknames: "The Konami Logo", "The Bacon Strips" Logo: On a black (or white) background, two curvy ribbons, one orange and one yellow, are seen arranged diagonally with "KONAMI" written below. The ribbons scroll up. Below it is the title screen. FX/SFX: The scrolling. Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the game or none. Availability: Seen on Konami games like Contra. Scare Factor: None. 2nd Logo (1991-1999) Logo: Just the white italiced "KONAMI" scrolling up against a black BG. FX/SFX: The scrolling. Music/Sounds: None. Availability: Seen on some Konami games for the NES and Game Boy. Scare Factor: None. 3rd Logo (1991-1996) Nicknames: "3D Konami Logo", "Laser Bacon Strips" Logo: Against a black BG, a spark draws a line at the top of the screen. It moves downward until a dark blue outline of the Konami logo from before is shown. Colors and textures shine as it fills the Konami logo (the top ribbon orange, the bottom ribbon red, and "KONAMI" silver) with the background fading to white afterwards. Colored line: *SNES: Purple *Genesis/Sega CD: Green *TurboGrafx-16: Blue. FX/SFX: 2D animation. Music/Sounds: An ascending/descending bell-like synth sound as the color appears (which sounds different depending on the game/system); otherwise silent. Music/Sounds Variants: *On Metal Warriors and the SNES version of Zombies Ate My Neighbors, the sound "reverberates" more. *On NFL Football ''for the SNES, the music sounds more muffled. *On ''Tiny Toons Adventures: Buster's Hidden Treasure for the Sega Genesis, the music is fast. Availability: Seen on all Konami releases for the SNES and Genesis (and the Sega CD add-on), as well as some for the TurboGrafx-16. The logo is preserved on Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP and Wii Virtual Console versions of Konami releases. Scare Factor: None. 4th Logo (1994-1999) Nicknames: "Walking Konami Logo", "Konami Gumby", "Gumby Bacon Strips" Logo: Against a black BG with a white floor, we see the Konami logo from before, but rendered in 3D, walking across the screen from right to left, with the silvery text "KONAMI" following behind. The text then stops in the middle and the logo walks off-screen. The logo then walks in ahead toward the screen, pushing the text along with it until the screen turns white and both the text and logo turn into 2D images (but in more solid colors than the 1st logo). FX/SFX: The logo and text moving. Music/Sounds: A series of synth chimes as the logo walks around, followed by a synth fanfare as the logo is fully formed. Availability: Seen on Konami releases of the period for the PS1 and Saturn, mostly in Japan. Konami releases in North America and PAL territories used the next logo. Editor's Note: None. 5th Logo (1995-1998) Nicknames: "Through the Rocks", "Rocky Bacon Strips" Logo: Against a swirly dark blue sky looking similar to the Northern lights, we see some boulders rising from the ground. The words "KONAMI" in steel flip up from underneath. We zoom out, and this ends with the two strips flipping up to the screen really fast. The screen quickly shifts to white, with the logo in slightly lighter colors and an '®' symbol. FX/SFX: The boulders, the logo rising, the Northern lights sky, and the logo forming. Music/Sounds: A dramatic tune with boulders crumbling (sounds more like explosions), a jet-like sound as the strips fly forth, and an orchestral "hit" as the logo is formed. Availability: Seen on pretty much all Konami games for the PS1 and Saturn released in North America and PAL territories. Editor's Note: None. 6th Logo (1996-1999) Nicknames: "Flip In", "Flipping Bacon Strips" Logo: Against a black/blue gradient BG, the three pieces of the Konami logo flip in, the orange ribbon coming in from the left, the red ribbon coming in from the right, and the company name in gray zooming out. When they join together, the screen turns white. FX/SFX: The parts of the logo coming together. Music/Sounds: Just a chime when the logo comes together. Availability: Was seen on Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and some Konami games for the N64. Scare Factor: None. 7th Logo (1997-1999) Logo: Just a still picture of the ribbons logo. Variant: Sometimes it may be in a black borderline box. FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: None, the game's theme, or a synth chime. Availability: Seen on some games from Konami, such as Metal Gear Solid. Scare Factor: None. 8th Logo (1999-2003) Nickname: "The Knife", "The Banner" Logo: Just the words "KONAMI" in a much different font on a red knife-shaped banner. This takes place on a white or black background. FX/SFX: The fade-in. Music/Sounds: Usually none. On arcade games, a tune is heard which just a little bit sounds like the Capcom jingle. Availability: Seen on later Konami games. Xiaolin Showdown Scare Factor: None. It's just boring. 9th Logo (2003-) Logo: Same as the last logo, but without the knife-shaped banner. FX/SFX: Same as the last logo. Music/Sounds: Same as the last logo. Availability: Brand new. Seen on the newest Konami games. Scare Factor: None.